Eragon an alternate side story
by wisdom1234
Summary: This'll be the story of a man who lives in the Eragon universe and it'll follow his story and how he affects the actual story. The man is powerful in his own right and revels in war and the darkness of it. Hopefully I can do it some justice


p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"It was midafternoon the day after they had left Eastcroft when Eragon sensed the patrol of fifteen soldiers ahead of them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"He mentioned it to Arya, and she nodded. "I noticed them as well." Neither he nor she voiced any concerns, but worry began to gnaw at Eragon's belly, and he saw how Arya's eyebrows lowered into a fierce frown./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"The land around them was open and flat, devoid of any cover. They had encountered groups of soldiers before, but always in the company of other travelers. Now they were alone on the faint trail of a road./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""We could dig a hole with magic, cover the top with brush, and hide in it until they leave," said Eragon./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"Arya shook her head without breaking stride. "What would we do with the excess dirt? They'd think they had discovered the biggest badger den in existence. Besides, I would rather save our energy for running."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"Eragon grunted. emI'm not sure how many more miles I have left in me/em. He was not winded, but the relentless pounding was wearing him down. His knees hurt, his ankles were sore, his left big toe was red and swollen, and blisters continued to break out on his heels, no matter how tightly he bound them. The previous night/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"he had healed several of the aches and pains troubling him, and while that had provided a measure of relief, the spells only exacerbated his exhaustion./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"The patrol was visible as a plume of dust for half an hour before Eragon was able to make out the shapes of the men and the horses at the base of the yellow cloud. Since he and Arya had keener eyesight than most humans, it was unlikely the horsemen could see them at that distance, so they continued to run for another ten minutes. Then they stopped. Arya removed her skirt from her pack and tied it over the leggings she wore while running, and Eragon stored Brom's ring in his own pack and smeared dirt over his right palm to hide his silvery gedwëy ignasia. They resumed their journey with bowed heads, hunched shoulders, and dragging feet. If all went well, the soldiers would assume they were just another pair of refugees./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"Although Eragon could feel the rumble of approaching hoofbeats and hear the cries of the men driving their steeds, it still took the better part of an hour for their two groups to meet on the vast plain. When they did, Eragon and Arya moved off the road and stood looking down between their feet. Eragon caught a glimpse of horse legs from under the edge of his brow as the first few riders pounded past, but then the choking dust billowed over him, obscuring the rest of the patrol. The dirt in the air was so thick, he had to close his eyes. Listening carefully, he counted until he was sure that more than half the patrol had gone by. emThey're not going to bother questioning us!/em he thought./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"His elation was short-lived. A moment later, someone in the swirling blizzard of dust shouted, "Company, halt!" A chorus of emWhoa/ems, emSteady there/ems, and emHey there, Nell/ems rang out as the fifteen men coaxed their mounts to form a circle around Eragon and Arya. Before the soldiers completed their maneuver and the air cleared, Eragon pawed the ground for a large pebble, then stood back up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""Be still!" hissed Arya./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"While he waited for the soldiers to make their intentions known, Eragon strove to calm his racing heart by rehearsing the story he and Arya had concocted to explain their presence so close to the border with Surda. His efforts failed, for notwithstanding his strength, his training, the knowledge of the battles he had won, and the half-dozen wards protecting him, his flesh remained convinced that imminent injury or death awaited him. His gut twisted, his throat constricted, and his limbs were light and unsteady. emOh, get on with it!/em he thought. He longed to tear something apart with his hands, as if an act of destruction would relieve the pressure building inside of him, but the urge only heightened his frustration, for he dared not move. The one thing that steadied him was Arya's presence. He would sooner cut off a hand than have her consider him a coward. And although she was a mighty warrior in her own right, he still felt the desire to defend her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"The voice that had ordered the patrol to halt again issued forth. "Let me see your faces." Raising his head, Eragon saw a man sitting before them on a roan charger, his gloved hands folded over the pommel of his saddle. Upon his upper lip there sprouted an enormous curly mustache that, after descending to the corners ners of his mouth, extended a good nine inches in either direction and was in stark contrast to the straight hair that fell to his shoulders. How such a massive piece of sculpted foliage supported its own weight puzzled Eragon, especially since it was dull and lusterless and obviously had not been impregnated with warm beeswax./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"The other soldiers held spears pointed at Eragon and Arya. So much dirt covered them, it was impossible to see the flames stitched on their tunics./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""Now then," said the man, and his mustache wobbled like an unbalanced set of scales. "Who are you? Where are you going? And what is your business in the king's lands?" Then he waved a hand. "No, don't bother answering. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters nowadays. The world is coming to an end, and we waste our days interrogating peasants. Bah! Superstitious vermin who scurry from place to place, devouring all the food in the land and reproducing at a ghastly rate. At my family's estate near Urû'baen, we would have the likes of you flogged if we caught you wandering around without permission, and if we learned that you had stolen from your master, why, then we'd hang you. Whatever you want to tell me is lies. It always is. . . ./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""What have you got in that pack of yours, eh? Food and blankets, yes, but maybe a pair of gold candlesticks, eh? Silverware from the locked chest? Secret letters for the Varden? Eh? Cat got your tongue? Well, we'll soon sort the matter out. Langward, why don't you see what treasures you can excavate from yonder knapsack, there's a good boy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"Eragon staggered forward as one of the soldiers struck him across the back with the haft of a spear. He had wrapped his armor in rags to keep the pieces from rubbing against each other. The rags, however, were too thin to entirely absorb the force of the blow and muffle the clang of metal./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""Oho!" exclaimed the man with the mustache./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"Grabbing Eragon from behind, the soldier unlaced the top of his pack and pulled out his hauberk, saying, "Look, sir!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"The man with the mustache broke out in a delighted grin. "Armor! And of fine make as well. Very fine, I should say. Well, you emare/em full of surprises. Going to join the Varden, were you? Intent on treason and sedition, mmh?" His expression soured. "Or are you one of those who generally give honest soldiers a bad name? If so, you are a most incompetent mercenary; you don't even have a weapon. Was it too much trouble to cut yourself a staff or a club, eh? Well, how about it? Answer me!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""No, sir."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""No, sir? Didn't occur to you, I suppose. It's a pity we have to accept such slow-minded wretches, but that's what this blasted war has reduced us to, scrounging for leftovers."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""Accept me where, sir?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""Silence, you insolent rascal! No one gave you permission to speak!" His mustache quivering, the man gestured. Red lights exploded across Eragon's field of vision as the soldier behind him bashed him on the head. "Whether you are a thief/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"a traitor, a mercenary, or merely a fool, your fate will be the same. Once you swear the oath of service, you will have no choice but to obey Galbatorix and those who speak for him. We are the first army in history to be free of dissent. No mindless blathering about what we should do. Only orders, clear and direct. You too shall join our cause, and you shall have the privilege of helping to make real the glorious future our great king has foreseen. As for your lovely companion, there are other ways she can be of use to the Empire, eh? Now tie them up!"br / "An army full of dissent huh ? Well then you wouldn't mind dying in assent"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"The voice was perhaps too low for the ordinary soldiers to hear but Eragon and Arya with there elfin hearing picked up on it. Eragon who had been itching to act aimed the pebble at the man nearest to him and waited for them to make a move. The owner of the voice was soon revealed to be a youngish mercenary dressed in full armor and / "Now instead of picking on poor travelers like your mothers taught you why don't you women try to take a man worth your time ?" br / Air hissed and a spear darted at his head , only to be caught in an outstretched palm. "Die" he spat. Before the Mustached leader on the charger could react the mercenary has sheathed his naked sword in the mans chest the spraying blood dying his face a crimson shade. br / Whoever he might be no human alone could take a company this size and survive , Eragon knew then what he had to do. Glancing over, he found Arya already looking at him, her eyes hard and bright. He blinked once. She blinked in return. His hand tightened around the pebble he cocked his arm but before he could throw The mercenary surprised the once more when he bounded up the side of the horse nearest to him, jumping from stirrup to saddle, and kicked the head of the oblivious soldier who was perched on the mare. He went hurtling more than thirty feet. Then he leaped from the back of horse to horse, killing the soldiers with her knees, her feet, and her hands in an incredible display of grace and / The rest of the soldiers turned there attention away from the harmless "travelers" and went to attack the man. "We should help him" Eragon urged but stopped midsentence by the queer look on Arya's face. Perhaps it would be wise to observe for now./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"The reinforcements surrounded him whooping and shouting while galloping in circles around him, trapped he grabbed a stave of off the nearest fallen soldier and struck the nearest soldier with all of his strength. The stave broke off and the soldier fell down in a fountain of blood and crumpled metal his horse dragging his body quite a few / Only three soldiers remained now , there demeanors changed they seemed skittish but didn't seem to be able to run away. He kicked up a broken piece of wooden shard and threw it into one of the horse's leg the rest two turned tail and galloped away. One was quickly dispatched by Arya while the final soldier fled south along the road. Gathering his strength, Eragon pursued him. As he narrowed the gap between them, the man began to plead for mercy, promising he would tell no one about the massacre and holding out his hands to show they were empty. When Eragon was within arm's reach, the man veered to the side and then a few steps later changed direction again, darting back and forth across the countryside like a frightened jack -rabbit. All the while, the man continued to beg, tears streaming down his cheeks, saying that he was too young to die, that he had yet to marry and father a child, that his parents would miss him, and that he had been pressed into the army and this was only his fifth mission and why couldn't Eragon leave him alone? "What have you against me?" he sobbed. "I only did what I had to. I'm a good person!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"Eragon paused and forced himself to say: "You can't keep up with us. We can't leave you; you'll catch a horse and betray us."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""No, I won't!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""People will ask what happened here. Your oath to Galbatorix and the Empire won't let you lie. I'm sorry, but I don't know how to release you from your bond, except . . ."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""Why are you doing this? You're a monster!" screamed the man. With an expression of pure terror, he made an attempt to dash around Eragon and return to the road. Eragon overtook him in less than ten feet, and as the man was still crying and asking for clemency, Eragon wrapped his left hand around his neck and squeezed. When he relaxed his grip, the soldier fell across his feet, dead./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"Bile coated Eragon's tongue as he stared down at the man's slack face. emWhenever we kill, we kill a part of ourselves,/em he thought. Shaking with a combination of shock, pain, and self-loathing, he walked back to where the fight had begun. Arya was kneeling beside a body, washing her hands and arms with water from a tin flask one of the soldiers had been carrying./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" The mercenary looked up and walked over to them "Well you certainly aren't regular human travelers".br / "We are with the Varden" Eragon replied flatly, he had noticed the glee with which he had murdered the soldiers. "And we'll be leaving now" he said walking over to Arya while recovering his scattered belongings. The mercenary pursued just a step behind him "Well this isn't the nicest way to treat someone who came to assist the two noble warriors" a cruel smirk on his face but before Eragon could give him a befitting reply Arya cut in "We did not ask for your assistance and neither did we need for it but we shall thank you for it nonetheless". The mans insolent expression changed for a moment ,his eyes narrowed and his smile dropped only to resume once one hand resting on the pommel of his sword he asked "Now what business could emElfs/em be having on this side of middle earth ? Perchance you are deserters to your Queen ?" His eyes narrowed once more "And you know what they say about deserters deserving death right ?" he was almost purring now. "I must laud your audacity if a mere human thinks he can take us on and live" Arya replied in a cool and measured tone none of her expression or stance betraying any hostility. Eragon knew that , that could change in an instant. Yet he knew that this conversation was going no where, they had already spent to much time burying the men and hiding there traces , there might be a search party when the company was found to be missing and the man seemed in no way to be in a / br / "Why does a mercenary like you seem so passionate about taking on Galbatorix's men ? Fancy yourself a hero perhaps ?" Eragon asked, impatient as he was curiousity still drove him to ask./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;""I have my reasons"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" "Well so do we and hence we must be leaving, if you wish to stop us you may try to exchange blows here with us and dying in vain here or you could always accompany us to the Varden and make a difference , we need men like you there." Eragon / He rubbed his chin seemingly in thought br / "You know what ? Perhaps I will" /span/p  
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